Responsibility
by KC Knight
Summary: Clear's acting weird and Aoba heard a meow coming from his direction. Something's up.


The loud meow was the last straw. Aoba swiftly turned towards Clear, who had sat down at the table a few minutes ago after arriving home. The white-haired man had been acting suspicious since he walked through the door and Aoba had kindly decided to ignore it after he dodged a couple of questions.

"Clear, what are you hiding in your jacket?" Aoba asked, leaning against the counter and crossing his arms.

"Um, shouldn't you be watching the food? It might burn," Clear said.

Aoba glanced to Lulakan, Mink's unusually pink-colored parrot. The bird had returned early from his flight around the city and decided to keep Aoba company while making dinner. "You'll tell me if it starts to smoke, right, Lulakan?"

The bird seemed to nod and he inclined his head towards the stove. Aoba turned back to Clear. "What's in your jacket?"

Clear looked everywhere Aoba wasn't standing. "I think I'm going to my room." He stood up and started walking towards the stairs. "Yeah, I'm pretty tired, so-"

"_Sit down_, Clear."

The man instantly sat back down.

"Now, I'm going to ask one more time–"

"I'm so sorry she just looked so helpless and lost and I felt horrible about leaving her there all alone and so I thought 'Hey, maybe I can take care of her,' I mean after all I have you, Mink, Noiz, and Koujaku to help me take care of her and I just thought I was doing a good thing, you know, like saving a life and–"

"Clear," Aoba interrupted before softening his tone. "What do you have in your jacket?"

The white haired man hesitated before unbuttoning his jacket. A gray face revealed itself, staring at Aoba.

"A kitten?"

Said animal mewed in response.

"Yeah, isn't she adorable? I found her near that ramen place," Clear said, petting the kitten's head.

Aoba let out a sigh before turning around and turning the stove off. He walked over to Clear and sat down next to him. "Clear, having a pet is a huge responsibility. You have to buy her food. You have to pay for the vet. You have to give her toys and love and attention especially since she's a kitten, and there's no doubt she's going to claw the couch."

Clear quickly turned to Aoba. "I can do it. Please, Aoba? Look at her!"

Aoba looked down at the kitten lying in Clear's lap. She was mostly white, except for her charcoal-colored head; around her blue eyes were circles of light gray fur.

Aoba reached over to scratch her under her chin while letting out a puff of air. "Have you named her?"

Clear looked back down at the kitten, his eyebrows drawn in thought. "Hmm..."

"Maybe you shouldn't. We might have to bring her to a shelter–"

"Jellyfish."

"What?" Aoba asked in bewilderment.

"Her name. She's Jellyfish."

"Clear, that's…That's another type of animal."

"My favorite type of animal, so it has sentimental value. It makes perfect sense!"

Aoba stayed quiet. Maybe a kitten would do Clear some good? He smiled softly at Clear. "If you like it, then it's a perfect name."

"So can I keep her?" Clear asked eagerly.

"You have to feed her, clean her, and play with her. _And_ her litter box stays in _your_ room–"

Clear brought Aoba into a bear hug. "Thank you, Aoba! You won't regret this. I'll be the best cat owner ever!" He let Aoba go, picking up Jellyfish. "Did you hear that, Jelly? Aoba said you could stay!" He kissed the kitten on her forehead, receiving a purr in response.

Aoba chuckled at the sight. He looked over to couch to see Ren sitting on the back of the couch, looking at the scene in confusion. "C'mon, Ren. Come meet the newest roomie."

The navy Pomeranian jumped off the couch and patted over to jump into Aoba's lap. Ren sniffed Jellyfish, who batted a paw at his nose. Ren shifted back, narrowly missing the playful kitten's swipe. He looked up at Aoba in exasperation. (Or what Aoba assumed was exasperation. Ren was an expressive dog.) He chuckled, scratching Ren behind his ear. A flutter of wings was heard and Aoba's left shoulder suddenly felt heavier. Lulakan dipped his head to look at Jellyfish, who was now trying to climb her way up Clear's shirt to get on the same level as the parrot. Lulakan looked at her for a moment longer, seeming to give a curt nod of acknowledgment before flying back to his perch on the counter.

Aoba let Clear coo at Jellyfish awhile longer, before clearing his throat. Clear looked at him curiously.

He flashed the white-haired man a smile. "Why don't you help me set the table? Mink and Koujaku are due back soon." He looked down at Ren. "Can you go bark at Noiz for me?"

The dog hopped off Aoba's lap and ran up the stairs to the rooms with a wag of his tail.

As Aoba finished up dinner, he desperately tried to think of a rational way to explain Jellyfish to the others. He came up blank.

* * *

Raised eyebrows and a toast (initiated by Koujaku) met the news of Jellyfish.

Noiz almost caused an issue ("Jellyfish? That's a fucking stu–" "_Noiz_."), but Aoba managed to snip it at the bud. After dinner, Clear went to his room to play with Jellyfish and Koujaku and Noiz ran up the stairs yelling at each other about something or other, leaving Mink and Aoba to do the dishes.

"Do you think it was a good idea to let Clear keep Jellyfish?" Aoba asked as he washed a dish.

Mink took the clean dish to dry it before setting it down. "I think Clear's a grown man who needs to learn to take responsibility."

"So it was good idea?"

"Yes."

"You could've said that first," Aoba muttered, handing him another dish.

"I think most of your ideas are good, Aoba."

"Most?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Trusting Noiz and Koujaku to buy the groceries. Together."

"I-Yeah, OK. Not my smartest idea. But give me a break: it was my first week here and they were so eager to help me."

Mink huffed, rolling his eyes. "They were so obvious."

"Obvious? About what?"

"They were vying for your attention. They liked you."

Aoba blushed. "My attention? Why would anyone want my attention?"

"Because you're genuine. You're kind and helpful and know how to connect with all of us. It's nice having someone around like that after ignoring each other for so long. Homemade dinners were another one of your good ideas. You've managed to sit us down for dinner and make us speak to each other civilly."

"Really?" Aoba said. "I'm happy I could help so much."

Mink gave a curt nod as he dried the last plate. "So, yes, your ideas are usually good."

Aoba turned to the larger man, looking up at him. "Thanks, Mink."

Mink responded with a grunt, stiffening when he felt lips on his cheek for a moment. He looked down at Aoba with widened eyes. The man gave him a cheeky grin before he walked towards the stairs and to his own room.

"Worth it," Aoba said to himself, sitting on his bed. "Totally worth it."


End file.
